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Smaller generation incites largest renewable energy gains

While seeming counterintuitive, a focus on smaller-scale distributed generation enables more and faster development of cost-effective renewable energy. In April, I wrote about the illusion that we can “move forward on all fronts” in renewable energy development; rather, a bias toward centralized electricity generation in U.S. policy reduces the potential and resources for distributed generation.  […]

Key actions on climate & energy at the Earth Summit in 2012

Carbon pollution from fossil fuel use reached the highest level yet in 2010, according to the International Energy Agency.  So should we throw up our hands?  No, this is a wake-up call that countries need to significantly speed up the pace of their action to reduce emissions.  And when they come to the Earth Summit […]

Three prominent Republicans care about climate change, sort of

In recent weeks, three prominent Republicans — Mitt Romney, Chris Christie and Jon Huntsman — have publicly affirmed their belief in climate change and the need to reduce pollution. This is good news! But as far as I can tell, they don’t have a plan to address the issue between the three of them. The […]

Poison, poop, and trash: spring in the park

Yesterday, I was at the park with my kids after dinner, a “night session” as we call it. The dandelions, ubiquitous this time of year, had a distinctly sinister curve to their stems that meant they’d been sprayed recently with 2-4-D, the world’s most widely used herbicide. You can smell it vaguely in the air, […]

Congress should not try to stop the Europeans from controlling aviation's carbon pollution

Why would a reauthorization bill for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have anything to say about the steps that Europe is taking to reduce carbon pollution from aviation?  The answer should be nothing.  But unfortunately the US Senate is considering language passed by the House of Representatives that would signal unhappiness with Europe’s efforts to […]

Could EcoAds Keep the Lights on in Japan?

In 1950s science fiction movies, irradiated monsters would emerge from the sea to level Tokyo as horrified citizens flee. In 2011, as a sign I saw last week in Tokyo airport attests (see photo), Japan faces a real-world nuclear nightmare and the very daunting task of rebuilding cities and an entire nation’s energy grid. An […]

New NASA map shows how much carbon is stored in global forests

NASA has just released a new map which shows the carbon stored in the forests around the world.  While it doesn’t show us exactly which forests are at risk of deforestation – thus turning the current stored carbon into carbon pollution that causes global warming – it does provide us with a visual of what […]

Tim DeChristopher and the March on Blair Mountain

“I went in thinking that I was sacrificing my freedom by taking such an action. This is not really the case. The sacrifice had happened before: when I had spent years being obedient to a system that is powerful and destructive; when I accepted the myth I had no power to change things; when I […]

Friday music blogging: The Head and the Heart

The Head and the Heart are not only a Seattle band, they’re from the neighborhood where I used to live, Ballard. They self-released their eponymous debut album in 2009 and immediately started getting huge buzz. The album was the No. 1 seller of 2010 at beloved Ballard record store Sonic Boom. Since then they’ve toured […]

A foolproof way to talk about climate change

If you’re like me and have to talk about climate science in public forums a lot, you struggle with the denier community and how to talk about the issue. Personally, I find the denial world so outrageously out of touch that I mostly hit the science head on and then blow the deniers out of […]